Dentists have been using panoramic dental images for many years to diagnose dental diseases and disorders. Existing panoramic X-ray imaging machines produce high quality images of the entire dental arch. The entire dentition, the maxillary sinuses, the entire mandible, the temporomandibular joints and other oral facial structures are visible on a single resulting X-ray film. Panoramic imaging machines capture X-ray images along a curved cross-sectional focal plane called a focal trough. The resulting image visible on a panoramic radiograph consists largely of the anatomical structures located within the focal trough. Up until now, panoramic images have been solely presented as two-dimensional images. Although some useful information such as the general shape of the dental structures, and the densities of the teeth and supporting bone along the dental arch can be obtained from the panoramic images, the physical dimensions of the dental structures and the spatial relation of these dental structures are not accurate due to the distortions and limitation of the imaging process.
Presently, three dimensional X-ray images are being recognized by more and more dentists as a valuable tool to diagnose dental diseases. Radiographic techniques, such as, cone beam computer tomography scans are known to generate three dimensional images of anatomical structures with high resolutions. However, certain anatomical structures and certain conditions require patients to be exposed to multiple scans or high doses of radiation to obtain good quality images. According to radiation protection in dentistry, a responsible radiologist keeps the radiation exposure as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The basis of radiation protection is that the exposure to the patient should be justifiable such that the total potential diagnostic benefits are greater than the individual detriment radiation exposure might cause.
Therefore, there is a need for a computer implemented method and system that constructs three dimensional images of an object using ordinary two dimensional panoramic images that require low doses of radiation for acquiring single scan images of anatomical structures.